Secrets
by theweiszguy
Summary: Natsu had a secret, a secret that would put his fiancée's life is in danger. The secret he was holding in was tearing their relationship apart slowly, but he couldn't tell her for her own safety. When the time comes will he choose his secret life, or the love of his life? Superhero AU
1. Chapter 1

" _Natsu, come in Natsu."_

"What's up Levy?"

" _Robbery in progress at Magnolia Gems. Gray and Gajeel are already on the way."_

"Roger that Levy on my way." Natsu pulled on the sleeve of his outfit revealing a watch. Checking the time with a smirk, he mumbled, "I still got plenty of time."

Natsu stood up from his sitting position on the roof before taking off in a sprint, jumping off the roof onto another one. He'd never grow tired of this, the feeling of the wind against his face and adrenaline in his veins.

He sure did love protecting his city, the fighting was a major bonus too.

The commotion became louder as he came closer to the scene, the sound of fists colliding and battle cries always got him fired up. He jumped off the rooftop into an alley on the side of the store, slowly going around the corner to look inside the building. Gray and Gajeel, two people Natsu would begrudgingly call his friends, had the culprits bound in ice and iron. Natsu pouted as he seen that the criminals were already apprehended. He busted in the glass doors, pieces going everywhere. The two dark haired males looked at him with angered looks.

"You dumbass!" Gray scolded. "You always have to wreck something dontcha?!"

Natsu grinned, "Always. Flashy entrances are just a part of being a superhero!"

Gajeel scoffed at the comment. "You're an idiot Salamander, that's movie shit."

"You got something to say, Lug Nut?" Natsu said, his fist ablaze.

Gajeel smirked, his arm turning into a sword. "You bet I do-"

"Would you two _shut up?!_ " Gray exclaimed. "There's two criminals apprehended here, and I doubt they're gonna take us seriously-"

"Yeah? You really think they're gonna take you seriously without a shirt?" Natsu cut him off, Gray immediately looked down at his bare torso.

"Dammit! Where the hell did it go?!"

"And you call me the idiot." Natsu said with a laugh. "You can't even keep your clothes on!"

"You're an idiot! You needlessly busted two perfectly fine glass doors to have a flashy entrance! Gramps is already pissed at you about property damage!" Gray retorted, glaring at his hot headed friend. Natsu smashed his forehead on Gray's, growling.

"I can settle this." The other two males looked at Gajeel with raised eyebrows. "You both are _fucking_ idiots."

"Yeah!? Least we have eyebrows Iron Dick!" Natsu shouted as he punched Gray in the face, catching the ice mage off guard.

"What do my eyebrows have to do with anything Fire Fuck?!" Gajeel growled at as he joined his two companions in a pile on the floor.

Meanwhile, the two criminals watched as all three threw punches and kicks intent on trying to hurt each other.

"Are they all… idiots?" One of them whispered.

"Obviously, Jiiro." The other one grumbled as he tried to stretch the iron binding his wrists to get out. "Damn he did these tight."

"Allow me, Takeo." Jiiro said he began to bang his wrists against the steel chair, he didn't need to be silent since the three superheroes shouting and fists colliding were making it impossible to hear anything else. The ice was beginning to chip away to the point where the cuffs broke free. He smirked, "Got it."

Jiiro turned around and undid the metal restraints at the knots, effectively freeing his partner. The Natsu, Gray and Gajeel haven't seemed to notice them, too busy fighting with one another. The two criminals shook their heads before sneaking behind the counter of the jewelry store, taking as much invaluable diamonds as they could as quickly as they could before fleeing out the back door.

Gray growled about to throw another punch when the corner of his eyes caught the two empty chairs. "Shit! They got away!"

"Way to go dumbasses! You had one job!" Natsu scolded as he sniffed the air. When he caught their scents, he sprinted towards the back of the store. "They're this way."

"Not our fault you always ruin our jobs!" Gray shouted as he ran along side his 'best friend'.

"Get over yourself Salamander. It's your fault, we had it under control until your dumbass came along." Gajeel grumbled, following behind the two shorter males.

Natsu shot them a teasing grin. "Professionals don't let people interfere with their work."

"Well others don't have an annoying pink haired idiot." Gray said to himself, but of course Natsu, with his super sensitive hearing, heard him from a mile away.

"You're lucky we're in the middle of something, Stripper." He growled out as they made their way to the abandoned alleyway. He looked both ways, trying to see where they were. "Dammit! Lost their scent."

"Lets split up." Gray suggested. "Gajeel you take north, I'll take south, Natsu you scope out on the roof tops." The two others nodded in agreement, before they all took off in different directions.

Fire surrounded Natsu's feet as he pushed off the ground, the flames giving him a boost on the rooftop. He looked around for any signs of the crooks, growling when he didn't see them.

" _Any signs of them Flame Brain?"_ Gray asked through the communicator.

"Nope. I don't see them, and I can't get their scent-" Natsu paused, his eyes barely picking up the two perps running around the corner of a building a few blocks away. "Found them! They just ran around the corner of the bakery."

" _Roger that. On my way."_

Natsu hopped from rooftop to rooftop as he did earlier until he reached the rooftop of the bakery. He focused his hearing on the conversation the thieves were having.

"Do you think Mard Geer will be proud of us?"

Natsu froze, Mard Geer? As in Tartaros' leader Mard Geer? Why would he want jewelry?

"Whenever we tell him that we got away from notorious Fairy Tail mages, he'll be begging for us to join Tartaros."

Understanding filled Natsu's mind. So _that's_ what it was, just an initiation type thing. He smirked to himself, they may have gotten from them once due to Gray and Gajeel's stupidity, somewhere in the back of his mind was saying it was his fault to but he ignored that part. Standing up, Natsu hopped over the ledge of the building right over the two crooks. He lit his fist with flames as his grin grew seeing the surprised looks on their faces.

"Found you!" Natsu's fist collided with the ground, throwing the two on their backs. He scoffed at them. "You think Mard Geer would let you two in when you couldn't even dodge that? Pathetic."

"Who the hell are you?!" Jiiro shouted.

"I'm Fairy Tail's Fire Dragon." His grin grew devious. "And I'm gonna burn you two to ashes."

"Takeo! Lets get out of here!" Jiiro said as he took off down the alleyway, Takeo right behind him.

"Oh no you don't!" Natsu growled before running behind them.

Jiiro and Takeo barely even made it around the corner before they were met with two steel biceps intercepting their path, immediately knocking them out.

"Think you could run from us bastards?" Gajeel smirked at the unconscious men. "Think again."

"Okay lets tie them up and put them in front of the police station." Gray said.

"I overheard these two talking about Tartaros. They did this as an initiation to join their organization." Natsu explained.

"Tartaros is starting to be a pain in the ass…" Gray mumbled before his gaze narrowed, turning to Natsu he asked, "Didn't you have something to do with Lucy tonight?"

Natsu's face paled instantly. "Oh shit…"

"Gihi. Looks like you won't have a fiancée after tonight." The iron dragon commented throwing both thieves over his shoulders.

Natsu looked at the watch hidden under his black glove. It was 8:23 PM.

Natsu was suppose to have dinner with Lucy and her father at 8 PM. This would be the third dinner this month Natsu was late to with Lucy.

He was _screwed._

Flames surround Natsu, his superhero outfit changing into the outfit he wore underneath his hero getup, black button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and dark blue jeans. He immediately started running into the direction of the restaurant he was meeting his fiancée and future father-in-law for dinner. "I'll see you guys tomorrow!"

"See ya tomorrow, if you live." Gajeel smirked before following Gray to the police station.

XxXxXxX

Natsu could honestly hit himself for forgetting another dinner with Lucy. Sure, he was busy with those two thieves, but this was the third time this month he was late for a dinner with Lucy. Hell, he's even missed a dinner with her a few months ago due to his hero work. That had left Natsu sleeping on their lumpy old couch for a week. Natsu sighed, he loved being a superhero but it was putting a damper on his relationship with his fiancée.

He approached the restaurant, seeing the woman he loved poke around at her food a frown etched on her pretty face. His heart dropped, knowing he was the reason why that frown was there. Her father was talking about something, probably talking shit about him not showing up on time… again.

With a deep breath, Natsu walked in the door with his head held high. He felt his confidence start to diminish as Lucy's eyes met his, he could see the disappointment that laced them. Lucy and her father stood up to greet the pink haired man. Natsu grinned nervously as he bent down to kiss his fiancée's cheek. He turned to her father, shaking his hand.

"Hey, sorry I'm late-"

"Where were you?" Lucy questions, irritation obvious in her tone.

"Got caught up at the station. Little brush fire Gray, Gajeel and I had to take care of." He said with a little smile, hoping she would believe him.

The look in her eyes showed she didn't, but she said, "Okay."

He grinned, thinking that was good enough for him. "Food looks great!" He exclaimed before digging in, Lucy knew him so well and what he wanted to eat. He noticed the awkward tension as Lucy and her father looked at him disapprovingly. He swallowed thickly, giving out a nervous laugh.

"You know Natsu." Jude began to say, "This is the third dinner this month you've been late for. I'm starting to think you don't want to be around me."

Natsu wanted to say it was part of the truth, since it was. Instead he awkwardly stated, "It's not that Jude, you know fires… just really unpredictable." His eye's went over to Lucy's seeing her still poke around at her food. He hated seeing her like this, even more if he was the cause.

"Have you and Lucy even started wedding planning?"

"Uh…" Natsu looked over to his fiancée who just sighed.

"Not really. We've looked at a few venues, but we haven't decided on one." She didn't put in the part that Natsu got called into work majority of the time they tried to look somewhere. She knew Natsu's job required him to be on the clock 24/7, so she usually forgave him for ditching or being late for important events. It was getting _very_ tiring though.

"You two have been engaged for two years now, I figured you'd have majority of it done."

"Yeah," Lucy glanced over at Natsu who looked down at his lap shamefully. "Some of us have been busy though."

Natsu felt guilt rush through him. If it wasn't for him being so busy protecting the city, Lucy Heartfilia would be Lucy Dragneel. Every time they went to look at a venue, there was always a robbery or a hold up close by. Since it was too dangerous to tell Lucy about his true line of work, he just told her he worked at the local fire department. It worked at first, but as time went on as the more frequent crimes happened in the town he knew she was getting suspicious. He hated lying to his future wife, he wanted there to be no secrets between them. If she knew that he was actually a freak born with the power to create and control fire and that he used that gift to be a unknown hero for the city, she would leave him in a heartbeat.

And a life without Lucy was something Natsu never wanted.

The rest of dinner was an awkward silence, the three didn't talk or look at each other. Lucy didn't really eat her food Natsu noticed, a habit she had when there was a lot on her mind. Once they were finished Jude paid the bill and the three walked outside the building. Jude kissed his daughter's cheek and shook her fiancé's hand before getting in his car and driving off.

Natsu and Lucy were walking back to their small apartment, Lucy's arm laced with his and her head on his shoulder, enjoying his company.

"I really am sorry I was late, Lucy."

Lucy shook her head in his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, I know you're busy with work."

Natsu smiled sadly at her words. "I know, but it's not fair to you. I'm gonna ask Dad if I can take a few days off, then we can really get our wedding plans started." The way her face lit up at his words made his heart thump rapidly in his chest.

"Really?"

Natsu chuckled, leaning down and kissed her head. "Yes really, I'm really tired of you being Lucy Heartfilia. Lucy Dragneel just has a better ring to it."

"Yeah, it does." Lucy laughed, hugging his arm tighter. "I can't wait to be your wife, Natsu."

He looked down to his future bride, seeing a genuine smile on her face for the first time that night. He felt himself grin due to her infectious smile.

"Me either, Lucy."


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: Thank you guys for your amazing feedback! It's all your guys love and support that keep me writing ^^ I hope to have this updated once a week. Thank you once again!_**

Natsu blinked his eyes open, trying to get them adjusted to the blinding sunlight coming in through the window. He heard the light snoring next to him, causing him to turn to face his peacefully sleeping fiancee. Her face was buried in a pillow, her hair a mess and lips swollen from their… activities last night. His features softened as he turned to his fiancee, brushing a stray piece of golden hair behind her hair. It was inconceivable how in love he was with this woman.

He watched as her face scrunched up before her doe brown eyes opened for him to see. His lips twitched up when her pale face flushed under his stare.

"Good morning." He whispered huskily, loving how her face got a shade darker.

"G-Good morning." She stuttered out before making an attempt to get off the bed, only for Natsu to grab her wrist and pull her back down to him. One of his arms wrapped around her waist while his other hand ran through her golden locks. "Natsu!"

"What?" He feigned innocence. "I just want to spend a morning in bed with you is all."

Lucy didn't put up much of a fight, settling for just cuddling into him. She couldn't remember the last time they just shared a morning like this. Natsu was gone majority of the time, and when he was actually here he was usually asleep or she was at work. She loved being in her fiance's arms… she missed him so much. "Whats the occasion?"

"Is it a crime to show my fiancée how much I love her this morning?" Natsu said as he rubbed his nose on the side of her face making her laugh. He felt her put her hand on his face, guiding it until they were looking at each other in the eyes.

"I'm pretty sure you showed me how much you loved me last night." She replied with lust underlying her tone, loving the way his cheeks reddened with her statement.

"I would love to show you again, if you'd let me."

Instead of replying, Lucy pressed her lips against his. Natsu shifted so he was on top of Lucy, his lips never detaching from hers.

He'd show her how much he loved her all morning long.

XxXxXxX

Stepping out of the shower, Natsu sighed as he toweled himself off. The morning had been amazing, every morning he got to spend with Lucy was an amazing morning but showering her with love and affection was Natsu's favorite thing to do, besides fighting criminals of course.

He decided to take a shower, after his night last night and his morning of love making with Lucy he desperately needed one. He wiped off the excess moisture the water created on his skin before he dressed in a pair of black sweats and a gray muscle shirt. Once he rubbed his damp hair with the towel, he threw it over the towel rod by the sink before opening the door, letting the aroma of bacon and eggs fill his nose. He walked out of the master bedroom and down the hallway, once he walked around the corner he seen his fiancée at the stove with one of his shirts on.

 _Just_ his shirt on.

He smirked at that thought as he walked over to Lucy, who was humming and swaying lightly to the melody playing on the radio. He made sure his footsteps were light as he made his way to her. When he wrapped his arms around her waist, she squeaked making him chuckle.

"Natsu! You scared me!"

"Sorry." He half-assed confessed before he buried his face in the crook of her neck. "Whats cookin'?"

"Bacon, eggs and toast. Something nice and easy for a brunch." She said as she leaned into his warmth.

"Low on energy eh?"

Lucy smacked his arm half heartedly, not bothering to cover the blush on her cheeks. "Shut up."

He let go of her, opting to set up the table for them. He decided to spruce it up a bit today, since the mood was great and the tension that usually hung between them disappeared. He loved days like today. Going to the cabinets he grabbed two plate, two cups and silverware and set it on the table before he walked over to the table in the living room to grab a vase of flowers. He set it in the middle of the table, noticing Lucy coming over with the mood.

"Well, someone's in a romantic mood this afternoon."

"What are ya talkin' bout Lucy? I'm the king of romance!"

The blonde rolled her eyes as she loaded the empty plates with food. "Sure, sure."

"You wound me." He responded, sitting down in his seat and digging into his food. "This is delicious Lucy!"

Lucy didn't respond, only smiled at his compliment. The two ate in a comfortable silence until Lucy brought up an important topic from last night.

"Are you still going to ask Igneel for a few days off?" She asked, hope in her voice.

Natsu sadly smiled at her tone, but nodded his head. "Sure am! I wanna be married already!"

"Well, we have to pick a venue first! Depending on their openings is when we'd be able to get married." Lucy said taking a sip of her coffee.

"Yeah, yeah." He waved her off before smirking, wiggling his eyebrows. "I just can't wait to consummate our marriage."

"We do that now you idiot."

"I know, but then we'll be able to start a family together." Lucy was very adamant about being married before having kids. Natsu didn't mind if it was before or after marriage, but he listened to his fiancée's wishes.

Lucy sat there, taking in his words before a smile crept its way on her lips. "Yeah… a family."

Natsu was going to reply when his phone started ringing. He groaned seeing it was Gray. "Hello?"

" _Come to HQ. We found new important information on Tartaros."_

"Woah seriously?" He glanced briefly up at Lucy, her lips already forming a frown. He knew she knew that he was going to work. "I'm kind of busy with Lucy…"

" _I know you want to spend more time with Lucy, but information is crucial."_

Natsu looked down at his lap, guilt already consuming him. "Okay, I'll be over soon." He muttered before hanging up the phone, hoping his fiancée didn't hear him. "I'm sorry Lucy-"

Before he could finish Lucy stood up abruptly and took her dishes to the sink. He could tell she was upset, and he really didn't blame her.

"It's okay, I have to work in a few hours anyway." He could hear the disappointment in her voice that their morning/afternoon was cut short… again. "Will you be back in time for dinner?"

"I should be." He replied as he took his dishes to the sink. "It's just a mandatory meeting for the firehouse."

"Tell Igneel and Gray I said hello." Lucy said, hurt still in her tone.

Natsu bent over placing a kiss on her lips, hoping to soothe the pain even if it was just a little. "I will, love you."

"Love you too."

XxXxXxX

"Whats so important?" Natsu shouted going into the building, irritated he didn't have more time with Lucy.

"Well hey to you too." Gray sarcastically replied.

"You wanna fight Ice Freak? I'm not in the mood." Natsu growled out at his rival.

"Just sit down boy, you're late." Natsu heard his adoptive father say. He sent his old man a glare before taking a seat between Gray and Gajeel.

"Alright brats. Erza and Mirajane successfully infiltrated Tartaros, they haven't returned but they told me what they found out." Makarov, the leader of Fairy Tail crime fighting organization, said standing in the middle of the table. "Tartaros is currently trying to find methods of mind control."

"Mind control?" Igneel said in slight shock.

Makarov nodded. "The girls found some victims of their experiments. Apparently they're trying to perfect it before they execute their plot to take us and every other organization down."

"But who can they use it on to take down every single guild in Magnolia?" Gray wondered aloud.

"That information is unknown at this time, but I hope we never have to find out." The short man said. "It's to my understanding they use torture methods to break the victims minds before injecting them with a serum that makes their mind and body completely theirs.."

"How awful." Levy gasped, putting her hand over her mouth. "But wouldn't they just use anyone if it was just to take us down?"

"You would think so, but I guess they might have a specific target in mind." Makarov looked to his children seriously. "You must keep a sharp eye on any unusual activity. Taking down Tartaros is our main goal. We can't let them reach their goal, my children we will not lose this war they have started."

"So… what does that mean? We have to up our patrols at night?" Natsu's tone was strained, already knowing his answer.

Makarov walked over to the fire mage, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry my boy. I know we're already making you sacrifice your time with Lucy. This war with them is hopefully almost over, then you will be able to spend more time with her."

"I was actually gonna ask to take more time off… so we could plan the wedding." Natsu looked down at his lap, clenching his fists.

"Son." Igneel stated, earning Natsu's attention. "We all know you love Lucy, and we all love her as well. You know you're one of Tartaros' main targets since you-"

"Yeah I know." Natsu cut him off, not wanting to remember his past. "I'm doing this to keep Lucy safe, but… I feel like I'm losing her in the process. I just want to tell her the truth."

"You know you can't. It's too dangerous." Igneel reminded him. "If Tartaros seen Lucy with you, they'd be after her without a doubt. This is for her own safety."

"I know…" Natsu sighed. "It's just putting a strain on us. I don't want her to start thinking I'm being unfaithful. There's only so much I can do before she starts suspecting it."

"Poor Lu-chan." Levy muttered hoping Natsu didn't her, unfortunately his super sensitive hearing worked against her.

"We didn't ask to be born with these powers Levy." Natsu snapped. "We didn't ask to be born to be freaks. We all want normal lives with the ones we love. The sooner this war is over, the better."

"Look Natsu," Igneel growled. "You don't talk to Levy like that. We understand you love Lucy, I love her like she was my own daughter. None of us want to see her in pain. We have a duty to protect this city, and until Tartaros is out of the picture we can't rest."

"Look man," Gray intervened. "You know Lucy is like a little sister to me. I would do anything to make sure she's not in emotional pain, but this is something only we can do."

"Sometimes I wish I didn't even have these stupid powers." Natsu said through his teeth.

"Well you have them, like it or not." Gajeel said irritated that Natsu got snappy with his girlfriend. "We gotta protect the city from those assholes, cause if we don't who else can?"

"What happened to the Natsu who's always excited about going into battle and loves his fire powers?" Levy questioned. "I've never seen you act like this before."

"I guess coming home to my fiancée's disappointed face every night is giving me a change of heart." Natsu turned around, avoiding all of their stares. "We didn't ask for this life, but Lucy didn't ask to be brought in it and deal with the consequences." He ran out the door not giving anyone a chance to reply. Gray and Gajeel were going to go after him, but Makarov stopped them.

"Let him be, he needs to get the anger out somehow." The elder man said, worried about the usually hyperactive male.

"They deserve to be happy, I can't stand seeing my son and my future daughter-in-law like this." Igneel grumbled to himself more than anyone. "Tartaros is going to pay for putting my kids through this hell."

"I hope we can end this war soon, for our sakes… and for theirs." Makarov stated making everyone nod their head is agreement.

XxXxXxX

Natsu walked in his and Lucy's small apartment, heart dropping knowing he didn't make it back in time for dinner. It was currently midnight, Natsu calling his fiancée at five o'clock letting her know he wouldn't make it back. He could hear disappointment in her tone, which made him hate Tartaros even more. He just wanted to rush in there, kick all their asses and spend the rest of his days with the woman he loved.

Natsu walked to his kitchen table, noticing the white piece of paper on the table.

" _Made you dinner, it's in the oven._

 _Love, Lucy."_

Natsu's heart dropped as he looked at the note. He didn't bother reheating the food she made for him, opting to just go lay in bed with her. He walked to the bedroom they both shared, dropping his bag by the dresser as he stripped down to his boxers. He looked to his fiancée, noticing the puffy eyes and dried tears on her cheeks. He felt his heart crack as he bent over to kiss her forehead, he didn't know how much longer she could put up with this.

How much longer their relationship could put up with this.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Thank you all for your reviews ^^_**

"So, Igneel wouldn't let you take a few days off?" Lucy said glumly, tightening the grip on her purse strap.

Natsu looked at her sadly. "Yeah. I'm sorry Lucy… but if it makes you feel any better I just have to be at the station at nights!"

"But if a fire happens you have to go help with it right?" He nodded at her statement. "Isn't that what happens anyway?"

Natsu scratched the back of his head and nervously laughed. "Yeah, I guess it is isn't it."

Lucy looked at her fiance suspiciously, her heart tightening uncomfortably. "Okay… well I guess we'll postpone wedding planning." She looked up in his eyes, making him gulp as she seen the obvious disappointment. "Again."

He frowned at her words. "I guess so…"

The blonde sighed. She really didn't mind the fact that they weren't married yet, her problem was the way her fiance was tip toeing around the subject. Every meeting they had set up there was conveniently a fire at that exact moment in time and he wouldn't return until the crack of dawn, raising her suspicions. She was starting to think his words were white lies, that he really didn't want to get married.

That... he found someone else.

And that was the reason for all of these 'convenient fires'.

All the calls he got at night weren't from the firehouse… they were from _another_ woman-

Lucy shook her head at her thoughts. Natsu was nothing if not loyal to her… she doubted being unfaithful ever crossed his mind.

Still, it was hard for her mind not to wander there.

"Lucy? You okay?"

Her head snapped up to look in his onyx eyes, confusion the main emotion in them. She offered a smile, even though both knew it was fake.

"I'm fine." She gave him a quick kiss before turning to face the door. "I'm going to work."

Natsu frowned. "Okay, have a good day!"

She didn't answer as she walked out the door, causing her fiancé to sigh. His mind was racing, unsure of what to do… of how to feel in this situation. He loved Lucy, no, he was _in love_ with Lucy. He has been ever since the day he met her…

" _Why the hell do I have to do this?!" Natsu groaned, making his way down the sidewalk._

 _Gray snickered. "Because moron, you're not gonna pass English if you don't study."_

" _Who cares if I don't pass?!"_

" _Your Dad, Makarov, Erza-" Gray watched as Natsu shivered, he knew he got him when he spoke of the red haired she devil._

" _Yeah, yeah." He waved him off. "Not my fault my patrols are at night. I don't have time for studying."_

" _You still wouldn't study even if you weren't out playing hero every night." Gray stated with a roll of the eyes. "We have two years left man. Then we can spend all of our time defending the city."_

" _I do love being a superhero." Natsu replied with a grin, stopping in front of the doors to the library. "You coming to study with me?"_

 _Gray shook his head. "Nah, Igneel just told me to make sure you made it here."_

" _How do you know I just won't leave?"_

" _Erza will know." Gray smirked as the color drained from his frenemies face. He turned away from Natsu and walked away. "Don't ask me how, she just will."_

" _Stupid Erza." Natsu grumbled under his breath as he stepped inside the doors. "Stupid Gray."_

" _Hello, is there anything I can help you find?"_

 _Natsu turned to the voice and he swore his heart skipped a beat. Looking at him with the sweetest smile and the deepest brown eyes he's ever seen. He couldn't form words, making her tilt her head cutely._

" _Sir?"_

" _E-Eh I just came here to study…" He stuttered, finally finding his voice._

" _What subject? Maybe I can help."_

" _E-English."_

" _Luckily for you, that's my best subject." She said sweetly making his heart race._

" _Aren't you working though?"_

 _She scoffed. "Hardly working. It's six o'clock on a Friday night, who comes to the library?" She watched as his face dropped which made her grin sheepishly. "Sorry."_

 _He waved her off. "Nah, its cool. My Dad forced me to come since I'm currently failing English…"_

" _Well then." She said walking over to a table and sat down. "Let's get that grade up yeah?"_

 _Natsu grinned back on her, taking the unoccupied seat next to her. "Yeah." He stuck his hand out for her to shake. "I'm Natsu."_

 _She took his larger hand in hers. "Lucy."_

 _The two talked more than studied, which Natsu didn't mind at all. He found out she's 16, she goes to a private school just a few blocks away from his school, that she lives with her dad and her dream is to publish her own book. Soon enough, three hours had past and it was time to close up. He enjoyed talking to the blonde, so much in fact he didn't want it to end. The time they spent together just went by too fast, which led Natsu to help Lucy straighten up the library._

" _You don't have to help me clean up Natsu." She said, putting a book in it's proper place._

 _He shrugged, picking up a book off the ground. "Least I can do for you taking time out of your busy work schedule to tutor me." He teased with a wide grin._

 _Her cheeks flushed slightly as she walked behind the front desk to grab her purse and house keys. "Yeah, well, you made my night a lot brighter thats for sure."_

 _It was Natsu's turn to blush, pulling up his white scarf to hide it as best as he could. "So, did you drive or walk?"_

" _Walk." Lucy said walking towards the door. "I love looking at the stars when I walk home, that and I don't have a car."_

" _I'll walk you home then."_

" _You don't-"_

" _It's late, it wouldn't sit well with me to let you walk home alone." Natsu's eyes lit up as her cheeks darkened in color. "Just consider it a final payment for your time."_

 _Lucy sighed, a smile gracing her lips. "You're not gonna let me say no are you?"_

 _He gave a childish grin. "Nope!"_

" _Then I guess I don't have a choice huh?"_

 _They walked along the sidewalks, the streets lighting their path. Lucy gushed to Natsu about the stars, and Natsu's smile was content as he listened to her talk about things he didn't understand, but he tried understand. He just knew little about stars._

 _Much too soon, they were in front of Lucy's front door. They turned to each other, Lucy looking nervously at the ground and Natsu scratching the back of his head._

" _So…" Lucy drawled out._

" _So…" He repeated. "I'll see you around?"_

 _The blonde smiled, pulling a piece of pen and paper out of her purse. She scribbled something down before handing it over. He was surprised to see her phone number on the piece of scrap. He became even more surprised as he felt a pressure on his cheek. When she stepped away, she smiled at Natsu's reaction._

" _Call me sometime?"_

" _Y-Yeah, sure." He cursed himself for stuttering, but he couldn't help it. A beautiful girl just gave him her phone number._

 _Was this even real life?_

 _Lucy waved as she unlocked her front door and stepped inside. Natsu waited until she stepped in before he touched the cheek she kissed. He couldn't help the smile that formed on his lips as he made his own trek home._

 _He'd never been more thankful that he's failing a class._

Natsu sighed as the flashback came to an end, he looked at the door his fiancée just walked out of.

"Just how much more of this can you take Lucy?"

XxXxXxX

Natsu threw an aggressive punch, making contact with Gray's cheek. Gray, slightly surprised about how hard his partner had hit him, fell to the ground with a grunt. Upon further inspection, he could see that Natsu was _pissed_. He wasn't sure why, but he was about to find out.

"Whats with you man?" Gray asked as he stood back up, wiping some blood off the corner of his lip.

"Nothing." Natsu replied. "Just thinking."

"About what?"

Natsu narrowed his eyes. "Why the hell do you care?"

"We're all worried about you." He admitted. "Between this whole Tartaros thing and Lucy you've been-"

"Been what Gray?" Natsu growled back. "Like I don't care about being a hero anymore?"

"You… what?" The ice hero was certainly surprised. "You love being a hero though! Kicking ass is your favorite thing to do!"

"Yeah." He looked down to the ground. "But, I love Lucy more. Fighting crime was my favorite thing until I met her." He brought a hand up to grip his salmon locks. "If I could just tell her maybe this wouldn't be happening."

"Besides the fact it could put her life in grave danger," Gray stated with a pointed look, "You have no idea how she would react."

"You don't think I know that?!" He shouted to his best friend. "The look in her eyes when I tell her I have to leave unexpectedly, the dry tears I see on her cheeks when I get home at the crack of dawn… there's only so much more she can take."

Gray's heart broke for his best friend and the woman he considered a sister. Lucy changed Natsu for the better. Before her all Natsu would do was go to school, patrol the city at night and sleep whenever he could. He was much more aggressive and reserved with people to a point where you could consider him selfish.

All that changed when he met Lucy.

Gray gritted his teeth at the thought that Tartaros was tearing them apart. They had been together since Natsu's senior year of high school, which was Lucy's junior year. They've been together six years now, engaged for the last two. Natsu and Lucy didn't get married the first year and a half since Lucy was finishing up her journalism degree, both agreeing that a wedding wouldn't be good since Lucy was already stressed out over school.

Once Lucy graduated, Tartaros started popping up. Before they appeared, being a superhero didn't put stress on their relationship. Natsu just did his patrols when Lucy was at class or work and he'd be there with her whenever she got off. There was the occasional robbery that he had to take care of, but that was once in a blue moon.

Not nightly like Tartaros.

They'd been on the scene for the past six months, causing more crime then the city of Magnolia had ever seen. Unfortunately, this meant that Natsu and the rest of Fairy Tail had to up their patrols… which meant Natsu had to do night patrols, ultimately causing a shift in his and his fiancée's relationship.

Gray sighed, looking up at Natsu seeing his aggravated expression looking at the ground. "This should just give you a bigger incentive to bring Tartaros down even more, right?"

Natsu looked to Gray confused. "Huh?"

"The faster were done with Tartaros," Gray began "The faster you can get your life started with Lucy."

Natsu's eyes seemed to light up at this. He was right, all he had to do was kick Tartaros' ass to the ground and he could finally make Lucy his wife. His frown morphed into a grin at this new mindset. "Yosh! I'm all fired up now."

Gray smiled at him, about to say something else when Levy came in through their communicators.

" _Natsu, Gray we need you immediately."_

The two looked at each other confused before Natsu replied, "Whats up Levy?"

" _There's a hostage situation in progress."_

"Where?" It was silent for a few moments before Natsu asked again, "Where Lev-"

" _... Sorcerer Weekly."_

Natsu and Gray's heart seemed to stop. When they recovered, they took off towards the building in question without a second thought.

Sorcerer Weekly... was where Lucy worked.


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N: My life has been hectic lately. My computer crashed and it took over a day to restore it! Plus, I'm getting a new job that's going to consume my life basically. Don't worry though! This story will regularly be updated on Mondays or Wednesday's. Its just a matter of when I can get on the computer to upload it. Thank you so much for all your support, it means so much to me!_**

Natsu has never been more scared in his life.

That was saying something considering he has been in situations that would make any grown man cry.

His fiancée , the woman he's loved for the past six years, was potentially caught up in a hostage situation, and he was slowly losing his mind over the fact. He just hoped and prayed she was on her lunch break, or got off early.

But knowing his luck, this wasn't the case.

"Natsu! Calm the fuck down!" Gray shouted, running right next to him. Gray was in his hero getup, black jeans with an icy blue jacket, his hood the perfect size to cover what it needed to ensure no one recognized him. On his hands rested black, fingerless gloves. "You freakin' out isn't gonna do a damn thing!"

"Yeah?! How the hell can you be so calm in this situation!" He growled back. "Lucy could be-"

"You don't think I realize how much danger she could be in?!" He huffed. "Trust me, if it's Tartaros like we think it is, you being your usual hot-headed self isn't going to do a damn thing but make the situation worse!"

Natsu clenched his teeth together. He knew Gray was right, in a situation like this he couldn't be rash. Any abrupt action could get someone hurt.

Or killed.

And Natsu wasn't letting anybody die today, especially not Lucy.

The more he thought about it, the faster his feet moved. He lit himself on fire, his training clothes turning into his hero outfit: White harem pants, a tight black muscle t-shirts, black fingerless gloves and his salmon locks darkened to the color of ash. To try to disguise himself more, he grabbed his spiky hair and forced it down, making them stay in place with the heat.

Soon enough, the building in question came in sight. Sorcerer Weekly stood at the corner of a strip right next to a four way intersection. The scene was surrounded by many emergency personnel, news reporters and nosey bystanders, who were taking pictures and videos on their phones. It looked like there wasn't a clear space to get into the building unseen.

Natsu growled in frustration. "How the hell are we supposed to get in there?"

Gray stopped running, eyebrows furrowing. "Seems like they got the whole place surrounded…" The ice mage pressed on his ear piece. "Levy, any open spot where me and Natsu can get inside?"

" _There's an open alleyway, get on the rooftop of the building next door and there's a fire escape you can use. You'll most likely have to get in the building through one of the windows. I'm not sure if you'll get in unnoticed, but it's the only chance you have of getting inside."_

"Got it, thanks Levy." Gray responded before looking at Natsu. He nodded his head to the fire mage before the two took off again, heading towards the opposite end of the street. There was still some press and bystanders near the end of the strip, but the duo tried their best to get behind them undetected.

Thankfully, the building had a fire escape which made it easier for Natsu and Gray to scale the building. Once they were on the rooftop, they wasted no time in jumping from roof to roof, forever thankful the distance between them wasn't too far. Soon enough they landed on the building next to Sorcerer Weekly.

Natsu and Gray looked over the ledge, noticing there wasn't anyone in the alleyway. Gray took it a step further by checking out the windows, cursing under his breath. "Shit, no open windows."

Natsu smirked. "Guess we're gonna have to 'crash the party' eh?"

Gray shoved him. "Shut up and let's get moving, who knows what they're doing to them in there."

That seemed to sober Natsu up, his face turning dark. Quickly, he climbed down the fire escape, not bothering to wait for Gray. He didn't take time to thoroughly scope out a window to jump through, he just seen the closest window and positioned himself to jump through it.

"Natsu! You idiot-!" He heard Gray shout after him but it was too late, he was already jumping from the ladder and through the glass. He landed on the floor with a thud, his arm and hand slightly pulsating at the shards of glass in them. He didn't take to long to dwell in his pain, instead searching throughout the room.

It was empty.

He felt Gray's presence right beside him, he knew his friend was about to scold him but it fell short when Natsu put up a hand to silence him. Natsu closed his eyes in focus, his ears focusing in on the sounds that weren't sirens and shouts from outside. Then, he heard it.

A scream.

Natsu took off, knowing Gray would follow closely behind. Natsu was blessed with hyperactive senses, meaning he could see, smell and hear better than the average person. Its helped out in a lot of situations, but he'd never been more thankful for them then right now. He tried to pick up the scents of Lucy and her co-workers, but couldn't. The only smell he could detect was the smell of smoke, which made the fire mage run faster.

He ran down the stairs, heading for the part of the building the smoke was strongest at. When he opened up the door to the lower level, the screams became louder and the smell became stronger. A flash of light followed by a round of screams caught Natsu and Gray's attention. They rushed to the scene, and what they found wasn't pretty.

There they saw Jackal, a member of Tartaros, standing over someone who was severely injured or already dead, Natsu and Gray couldn't tell. When Natsu's eyes went over to the huddle of journalists in the corner, his heart skipped a beat.

Lucy was here.

Lucy was at the front of the other five, her arms up to try to block them from their attacker even when it was clear as day she was scared to death. Tears were streaming down her face, she had cuts and bruises adorning her usually flawless skin, and dry blood on her nose and the corner of her lip… not to mention one of her brown eyes was squinted

Just looking at Lucy, he'd never wanted to kill someone before.

But right now all he could think about was killing Jackal.

"Seems like you want round two dontcha Blondie?" Jackal said, his tone dangerous. He lifted his arm, a bright circle surrounding his hand. "Don't think you'll be so lucky to survive this time!"

Natsu seen Lucy close her eyes tightly and grit her teeth together before she began to crawl away from the group. Jackal immediately going to her and kicking her stomach, making Lucy crash into the wall.

"Say bye bye Blondie!" Jackal cackled before bringing the light back in his hand. When he was about to release it, Natsu tackled him to the ground. Natsu just kept hitting him in the face, his fists aflame and pupils dilated.

He was out for _blood_.

He watched as bruises and burns already littered Jackal's face from his assault, vaguely hearing Gray evacuating the victims. Natsu eyes flicked over to his fiancee, who lay unmoving on the ground. That was all it took for Jackal to gain the advantage. Natsu felt Jackal's knee hit his stomach hard, the force enough to knock him off the Tartaros member.

"Heh, bout time you Fairy Bums showed up!" Jackal stood up, lighting up both his hands. "I was just starting to get bored."

Natsu growled at him, eyes flickering between Jackal and Lucy. His sights settled on Jackal when he rushed for him, Natsu easily dodged the barrage of fists coming his way retaliating by putting flames to his foot before kicking Jackal hard enough in the stomach to knock him back a few inches.

"Ice Make: Floor!" Natsu heard Gray shout before a patch of ice appeared under Jackal's feet, making him lose his balance. His back slammed to the floor, knocking all the wind out of him. "I got everyone out. Go check on Lucy!" Gray ordered as he bound Jackal with his ice, not noticing the surprised look in his golden eyes.

Natsu didn't need to be told twice before he rushed over to his fiancée, tears pricking his eyes as he noticed she hasn't moved a muscle during his fight with Jackal. He leaned down next to her, two fingers on her neck to feel how strong her pulse was. He was relieved when he felt one, but it was very weak. He picked her up, crushing her against his chest. "Lucy? Hey Lucy, wake up!" He cried desperately, the tears he was trying to hold back falling.

He barely registered the explosion on the other side of the room, he glanced up seeing Gray on the ground and Jackal standing up with a smirk on his face. "Don't worry Fairy Scum," Jackal ran over to the window sill, peering over at Natsu and Lucy one more time, "We'll meet again."

They watched as he jumped out the window, not before he made another desk explode adding more to the already raging fire. Natsu heard Gray coughing profusely. "Natsu do something about this fire, I'll watch Lucy."

Natsu responded by holding her closer to his chest making Gray sigh. "Natsu we can't leave the building ablaze, besides Lucy looks overheated. You sucking up these flames and my ice will help cool her off before we can get her to a hospital."

He considered this for a moment before deciding he was right. He handed Lucy over to his best friend before walking to the center of the room and taking a deep breath, the fire being sucked into his awaiting mouth. He did it as quickly as he could, not wanting to be apart from Lucy any longer than necessary.

When he was done, he watched as Gray put a hand to her forehead his ice cooling her off. "Natsu we need to get her to a hospital, she's in bad shape."

Natsu rushed over and lifted his fiancée in his arms. Both boys froze when they heard her moan, signaling she was waking up. They looked into her brown eyes that were usually full of happiness be replaced by fear. Her eyes widened as she let out a blood curtling scream before thrashing around in Natsu's arms.

"Let me go!"

Natsu held her tighter, trying his best not to drop her. "Easy there ma'am. We're going to get you help, we're not going to hurt you."

Lucy's struggling didn't stop which caused Natsu to get irritated. "Dammit Lucy! Knock it off!"

This seemed to make the blonde stop.

"H-How do you know my name?" Natsu and Gray tensed, looking at each other before looking back down at her.

"We heard one of your co-workers shout your name when you were unconscious." Gray quickly said while his partner gave a relieved sigh.

"O-Oh." Lucy began to cough harshly.

"We need to get her outta here fast." Gray spoke before walking ahead of Natsu. "I'll make sure there's no more danger, stay put."

Natsu watched as Gray left the room, leaving the fire mage alone with his fiancée. Sighing, Natsu sat against the wall with Lucy in his arms.

Natsu shook Lucy slightly. "You gotta stay with me Lucy, we're going to get you outta here when the coast is all clear. Is there anything you want right now?"

"I-I want Natsu…" Her voice came out raspy, which worried him.

"Who's Natsu?" He asked, trying to make her stay conscious.

"My fiancé." Lucy said with a sad smile. "I never s-see him anymore…"

Natsu frowned as she had another coughing fit, he noticed how her eyes were starting to close. Panicking he asked. "Whys that?"

Once Lucy's coughing fit ceased, she replied, "He tells me he's working... sometimes it's hard to believe it when he comes home past midnight most nights."

Natsu felt his heart drop a bit hearing his fiancée confirm his suspicions. "Why are you telling a stranger all this?"

Lucy smiled as her coughing picked back up, this time blood trickled from her mouth which caused Natsu's mind to go into panic mode. "W-Will you make sure Natsu comes to see me?" She brought a hand up to his cheek, her eyes overflowing with tears. "P-Please?"

Natsu gritted his teeth, she was begging. Begging a total stranger to go and make her fiance, the man that was suppose to give her nothing but love and support, to spend some time with her. Natsu never felt more disgusted with himself then he did right now… just how lonely did Lucy feel? He smiled sadly down at her. "I'll kick his ass if that's what it takes to get him here."

"T-Thank you.." Lucy's eyes were slowly closing making Natsu panic even more. "I-If something happens to me… tell him I love-"

Lucy didn't get to finish her sentence, her eyes shut and her breathing became shallow.

"L-Lucy?" He shook her a bit. "Lucy, you need to wake up." Tears spilled from his eyes. "You need to wake up so we can have the wedding you've always dreamed about, remember? Red roses everywhere, m-me crying when I see you walking down the aisle-" He couldn't take it anymore, he hugged Lucy to his chest sobbing, telling her was sorry and not to leave him.

"Natsu!" He could barely register Gray saying his name. "I got the ambulance here with a stretcher, don't worry Lucy is going to be-" Gray couldn't finish what he was saying, the scene in front of him shattering his heart. There was his best friend hugging his fiancée to his chest sobbing hysterically telling her not to leave him. Gray's eyes pricked with tears as he shouted out the doorway. "HURRY UP!"

It all happened so fast it felt like a blur to Natsu. The ambulance arrived, he put the love of his life on a stretcher and watched her be wheeled away as the EMTs were forcing air into her lungs. Natsu felt as though he couldn't move, his body tired from the ordeal. He was only brought to reality when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You alright man?" Gray asked, concern evident in his tone.

"She begged a total stranger to make sure her fiance comes and sees her at the hospital." Natsu turned to his best friend, tears still falling. "A-Am I really making her that lonely…?"

Gray couldn't say anything because he didn't know if it was the truth or not. Instead, he pulled him in for a hug, letting him sob his troubles out. His heart went out for them. Tartaros has done enough to them, now adding on the trauma Lucy was bound to have didn't make it any easier on their already strained relationship. After a few minutes, Gray pulled back. "Let's go see Lucy, she needs you more then ever now."

Natsu just nodded, walking out of the room with only one thought on his mind…

Lucy.

XxXxXxX

 _Elsewhere..._

"Hey Mard Geer! You're never gonna believe what I found out on the job." Jackal grinned as he kneeled in front of the throne where Mard Geer.

"Well? Get on with it." He replied, his tone impatient.

"Fairy Tail seems to have a human friend."

Mard Geer seemed interested. "Do you have information on her?"

Jackal pulled out a manilla envelope. "When the Fairies screamed her name, I did a little digging."

"Very good Jackal, you may leave." Mard Geer didn't bother watching him walk away, he was too consumed by the information he had in his hand. He pulled out a piece a paper, a smirk adorning his lips. "Lucy Heartfilia, huh?"

He stood up from this throne, chuckling as he made his way to Tartaros' resource room.

"Grave mistake, Fairy Tail."


	5. Chapter 5

_I'm so sorry if this chapter seems like total word vomit, I had no ideas for it and just went with it. I still hope you enjoy it though!_

It's been hours.

Hours since Lucy was brought to the hospital, hours since Natsu has even moved.

He's been sitting in the same spot, in the same chair, staring at the same white wall in front of him waiting to hear some news back on his fiancé. Apparently she threw up blood when they arrived and was rushed back to surgery to check for internal bleeding.

When Natsu heard that, he broke down for the second time that day.

He barely even noticed Gray, Igneel, Levy nor Gajeel there waiting with him. He didn't notice how Gajeel was hugging a hysterical Levy. Didn't notice how his father was putting a comforting hand on a very shaken Gray. Didn't notice how they all were giving him worried glances from time to time. He didn't notice or even care about any of them right now.

He just wanted Lucy.

"Natsu-"

"Don't." Came his sharp reply as he cut his father off.

"Dammit boy, when are you going to get it through your thick skull that you're not the only one hurting about Lucy!" Igneel shouted as he got up and stood in front of his son. "Everyone is just as worried as you are-"

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Natsu yelled back, startling everyone in a close proximity. "You didn't hold her in your arms Dad. You didn't see the pain in her eyes, begging a complete stranger to make sure her fiancé came and seen her in the hospital." Tears started to fall from his eyes, giving a look that shattered his father's heart. "Just…. Just how much have I been h-hurting her Dad?"

Igneel said nothing as he rushed to his boy's side, pulling him into a tight hug. Igneel felt tears prick his own eyes, worry for his son and the woman he thought of as a daughter. The resolve for Fairy Tail to take care of Tartarus after this attack multiplied tenfold.

They would _pay._

"Are you here for Miss Heartfilia?" Everyone's heads turned towards the doctor who had a small smile on her face.

"We are." Igneel replied. "How is she?"

"She's going to be fine, few close calls there though." The doctor began to look at the clipboard. "We stitched up the area of internal bleeding which was our main concern, seems she was hit in the stomach with enough force to cause a tear inside. Other than that the most serious injury is a fractured arm, along with cuts and bruises. She's going to have a lengthy recovery, she'll need some support to get her through this time."

Igneel nodded. "Thank you for saving her."

"I'm happy to do so." The doctor said with a bright smile. "She's resting now, I would prefer no visitors for her, but I will allow you to go see her." The doctor's smile dimmed. "I can tell you need to see her."

Igneel nodded his thanks, turning to Gajeel and Levy. Before he could say anything, Gajeel spoke up. "I don't think Levy's in the right state of mind to see Lucy. I'll bring her by tomorrow, just knowing she's gonna pull through is enough for us right now."

"Understandable." Igneel looked to Gray. "You want to go?"

Gray nodded, wiping his eyes. "Yeah..."

The older male put a supporting hand on his shoulder. "You did all you can to save her-"

"And yet she still almost died." Gray shrugged Igneel's hand off his shoulder roughly. "Some heroes we are."

Igneel sighed, turning back around to talk to his son only to realize he was already gone. The elder Dragneel shook his head, pulling out his phone to call Makarov to let him know the news.

XxXxXxX

Natsu has never cried so much in a single day before.

When he walked into Lucy's hospital room, he wasn't expecting _this._

She was hooked up to so many different machines, multiple IV's placed within her dainty body. There was a hard, white cast placed on her right arm to set her fractured arm. The scratches and bruises on her creamy skin were covered up by bandages, leaving only a little bit of her pale skin visible to him.

Natsu did _not_ like seeing Lucy like this.

Which is why he was currently sitting by the uncomfortable wooden chair placed at her bedside, silent tears falling from his eyes as he held onto Lucy's cold hand. He stared at her face, hoping for some sign that she would wake up soon. He was so attuned to the blonde, he didn't even hear the door to the room open.

"Hey." Natsu ignored Gray's greeting, opting to keep his attention on Lucy. He heard the chair on the opposite side of the bed scrape the tiled floor. "Igneel let the others know what happened, they would have came too but Gramps had everyone else out looking for Jackal."

"They're going to pay." Natsu growled out, grip tightening on Lucy's hand. "No one hurts Lucy and gets away with it."

"You said it." Silence fell on the two for a few minutes before Gray decided to speak up again. "Hey, Natsu?"

Natsu grunted to let Gray know he was listening. "Jackal seemed a lot stronger this time around, didn't he?"

Gray's question caught Natsu's attention. "Now that you mention it, he did."

"I know they have that serum for the mind control, but maybe they're making other types of serum to enhance their powers among other things."

Natsu shrugged at his words. "Who knows, we'll just have to wait for Erza and Mira to get back with their reports."

"I guess." Gray mumbled back.

Another silence fell upon the two as they watched the blonde. Her chest was slowly going up and down, the tubes in her nose helping her breathe. Natsu took his eyes off Lucy for the first time to look at Gray.

Natsu frowned at what he saw.

His eyes were red and puffy from the tears he had cried earlier, his skin was paler than it normally was. Gray's expression could only be described as pure heartbreak and concern, Natsu knew Lucy meant a lot to Gray, and seeing him react like this just proved it.

"How're you holding up?" Natsu guessed his question surprised Gray by the way he looked back at him briefly before turning his gaze back to Lucy.

"Okay I guess. I can't get over how cold she was when I held her, I'm an _ice mage_ Natsu and she she felt _frozen_ in my arms." Natsu's jaw clenched as he seen fresh tears form in Gray's dark blue eyes. "If only... if only we were stronger maybe she wouldn't-"

"You two did everything you could." Natsu and Gray both jumped at the new voice that entered the room. Igneel stayed at the end of the bed, looking at Lucy instead of the two heroes. "It was a cheap shot by them, attacking civilians who couldn't defend themselves. Two of Lucy's co-workers already lost their lives and another five were injured, one of those five aren't expected to make it through the night."

"Fucking bastards." Natsu growled out. "How heartless can you be to do this to innocent people..."

Igneel shook his head. "I don't know son, we should honestly just be thankful that Lucy didn't end up as another fatality. Reports from some of her co-workers say she tried her best to protect them, but no anvil."

"Yeah, when we arrived Lucy was trying her best to shield everyone." Gray added on, a small smile on his face at that thought. "She's one tough woman."

"Which is why she made it through this whole ordeal, we can only hope she'll come back out the same Lucy we all know and love." Igneel then looked over to Natsu. "How're you feeling, son?"

Natsu thought about his father's question. How was he feeling? He knew he was pissed, sad, hurt, worried, relieved... he didn't know how to describe how he was feeling. "I dunno exactly. I'm pissed that this happened, but relieved that she's gonna pull through. I..."

"Natsu?" Gray asked when the fire mage stopped talking.

"When I thought Lucy was dying in my arms, so much went through my mind." Natsu began to say. "I thought of all the time I've lost with her because of these fuckers, all the nights I could have been with her, of the family we could have already started..." Tears began to fall down his cheeks again. "It made me realize... realize that maybe I shouldn't be a hero anymore."

"What!?" Gray shouted, his and Igneel's eye growing wide at Natsu's words. "I know you mentioned it earlier, but I figured you were talking out of your ass!"

"No." Natsu stated seriously. "I don't want to be a hero anymore if it means I lose time with Lucy."

"Natsu, be rational." Igneel tried to reason. "All the emotions running around has your thoughts in overdrive, we'll discuss this after everything has calmed down."

"Something has to change though!" Natsu said raising his voice. "It's either I quit being a hero, or something changes where I can actually spend time with Lucy! Tartaros or not, Lucy needs me and I need her. We..." He looked to the love of his life once again. "We can't last much longer like this."

Igneel's eyebrows furrowed in thought and frustration. His son was right, but he was needed to fight Tartaros. Natsu was one of their strongest fighters...

And the main reason why Tartaros was after them more than the other guilds.

"Natsu, I'll let you have your little tantrum about not wanting to be a hero for now." Igneel said sternly. "But at the end of the day, you know as well as anyone else you need to be a hero. _Fairy Tail_ relies on you. Without you, our team isn't complete."

Natsu looked to the ground letting his father's words sink in, knowing they were right. "We all know you love Lucy, and it hurts us for you that you have to make such a sacrifice. Hopefully this war that Tartaros started will be over soon, and things between you and Lucy will go back to normal. But for the time being, you're just going to have to suffer through it." Igneel finished, turning his gaze to Gray. "Come on Gray, let's leave Natsu alone with Lucy."

Gray said nothing, giving a sympathetic glance towards his best friend. It wasn't until Igneel said his name more firmly that Gray actually listened. The ice mage sighed, standing up before walking around the bedside putting a hand on Natsu's shoulder.

"Everything's gonna be okay man." Natsu did nothing but slightly nod at Gray's words, too much circulating his mind to actually comprehend anything.

"We'll come and visit again tomorrow." Natsu heard his father say. "Try your best to get some sleep, there will be a briefing tomorrow about this and the information Erza and Mirajane found at the Tartaros guild." Natsu was thankful Igneel wasn't expecting a reply, instead he and Gray just walked out of the room finally leaving Natsu alone with Lucy.

Natsu sighed, intertwining his fingers with the woman he loved. As much as he hated to admit it, Igneel was right. They needed him too much for him to just quit being a hero because of Lucy, even though he _really_ wanted to at this point. His emotions and thoughts were just running everywhere, making him say the first thing that came to his mind. As much as he loved Lucy and wanted to be with her, the city needed him. He had made a promise to protect it when Fairy Tail first formed.

He could only hope that this fight with Tartaros would end soon. It was the only way to salvage his and Lucy's relationship.

Natsu was so lost in thought, he barely heard the light groans coming from Lucy. His mouth formed a relieved smile, standing from his chair to pet her golden locks waiting for her to wake up.

"No! Stop! Get away!" Lucy began to thrash in Natsu's grasp, causing Natsu to switch to protective mode.

"Lucy, hey Lucy. It's Natsu." Natsu noticed that she calmed down with this and continued petting. "You're safe. I'm here."

Lucy was still tense under Natsu's hands, but an overwhelming amount of relief washed over him when she opened her chocolate brown eyes for the first time that night.

"N-Natsu?"


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey guys! Long talk no update right? Sorry about that, but I have great news! I've written enough of my stories to update once every two weeks! No promises on what days, just know it'll be updated twice a month :) I got both my stories planned out now, this is kind of the last filler chapter on this story, I felt bad about the long wait so I just filled it with NaLu. Hope you guys don't mind too much :)_

 _Also, I kind of want a way to interact with you guys more! I see other authors so a question type thing (either they ask a question or you ask them questions and they answer the next chapter update) which I think is amazing! I would love to do that with you all, so if you have any questions for me I would be honored to answer them next chapter!_

 _I would also love to hear your guys thoughts on my stories, all your reviews and comments are super appreciated!_

 _If you wanna ask me anything leave a review or an ask on my tumblr! My name is proudtobeaginger._

 _I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!_

* * *

"N-Natsu?"

Natsu gave a watery eyed smile towards his lover. "Yeah Lucy, it's Natsu."

"Y-You're here." Natsu watched as Lucy tried to sit up, only for Natsu to gently stop her. She looked up at him with confusion, but thankfully complied in laying back down when he offered her a small smile.

"You got some stitches in your lower half of your stomach, don't overdo it."

He watched as her eye's widened in horror. "S-Stitches?"

Natsu sighed, moving from the wooden chair to the edge of her small hospital bed. He hated seeing the look of absolute fear in her eyes, he wanted to take it all away. "You took a pretty hard kick to the stomach, they had to stitch up some internal bleeding."

"O-Oh." Lucy breathed out, not knowing what else to say.

The two sat in an awkward silence. Natsu trying to soothe the awkwardness over by smoothing out Lucy's golden hair and holding her hand. "How're you feeling?"

"E-Everything hurts." She cried out. "It hurts so much."

"I know baby, I know." Natsu soothed. "You survived though Lucy, and you saved people's lives."

"M-My friends." She looked to him hopefully. "Are my friends okay?"

Natsu gave Lucy a grim look. "Two of them died and another isn't expected to make it through the night."

His heart shattered when tears instantly filled and drained from her eyes. Her chest heaving as uncontrollable sobs took over her body. "N-No."

Natsu helped Lucy sit up, minding her stitches and arm, and held her as she cried. He didn't know what to do, what to say, what to think. He had so many emotions running through his body, but this wasn't about him it was about Lucy. Nothing he could say or do would change what happened, so he did what he felt was right.

He held her as she sobbed her heart out, whispering sweet nothings into her ear.

What felt like hours, Natsu felt Lucy's sobs die out ever so slowly. He pulled back, looking into her reddened eyes. "It's going to be okay Lucy."

"H-How?" She cried out. "How is it gonna be okay?! Just what the fuck was that thing? It wasn't even human!"

"Calm down Lucy-"

"No! No I won't calm down!" She shouted hysterically. "I got attacked by something that had the power to make things explode! I mean..." She gulped, fresh tears forming in her eyes. "W-What if he comes back to finish the job?"

Natsu placed his hand on top of hers and squeezed. "I won't let that happen Lucy."

"Yeah? And what are you going to do Natsu?" She snapped at him. "You can't beat something that's not even human!"

"I think you were hallucinating Lucy." He had an uneasy smile on his lips. "Why don't you just lay back down-"

"Hallucinating?! You weren't there Natsu!" Lucy croaked before sobs took over, making Natsu have his defense up. "You weren't there... you're never there..."

Suddenly Natsu figured out this wasn't all about the trauma Lucy endured, but about their relationship as well. This wasn't the time nor the place to discuss it, he had to figure out a way to get Lucy calmed down before the nurses had to come and sedate her. He didn't want Lucy to go through anymore physical (because she would be hurting emotionally and mentally for some time after this event he already knew) pain than she already was in, so he took a deep breath and said what needed to be said. "Come on Lucy, lets not do this right now. Your emotions aren't stable, lets just get you calmed down before you say or do something you regret."

He watched as Lucy tensed up before she nodded slowly, he hated saying something like that to her but it was the truth.

"Did they tell you anything?" She asked after a few moments of silence.

"Just that you were seriously injured in what they think was a terror attack, and the information about your coworkers. That's all I know." Lucy nodded, leaning into his chest. "Do you remember anything Lucy? Did you wanna talk about what happened?"

Lucy shook her head. "I remember, but don't want to talk about it. Just..." She cuddled more into his chest. "Just hold me."

"Of course." He said, smiling softly down at her.

They sat there for a little while, him just holding his future wife to his chest as silent tears fell down her face and her breath became even. He could tell that she was calmed down now just by how lax her body felt against his, she no longer felt stiff. He kissed the side of her head, sighing in the content feeling between them

Lucy broke the silence, gripping his shirt with a content smile. "I'm so happy you're here Natsu."

Natsu held her a little tighter. "Where else would I be?" His stomach sank a bit when Lucy didn't respond and loosened her grip on his shirt. "Lucy? Whats wrong?"

"Nothing." She replied, snuggling further into his chest. "Just, please. Don't leave."

"Never." He replied seriously, hugging his fiancee closer to his chest.

Another silence fell on the two, but this time a comfortable one. Natsu was enjoying the feeling of Lucy in his arms. He missed this, he missed her. They didn't get time to do this often thanks to his unpredictable life, but he cherished when they finally did get the time together. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt Lucy shift.

He watched as she pulled away from his embrace, gently moving over on the bed leaving a space on the small hospital bed. "Lucy?"

"Lay with me, please."

"I don't think I should-"

"Please."

The begging in her voice paired with the unshed tears in her eyes made Natsu change his tune. Slowly he stood up from the chair and slipped into bed with his love, pulling her tightly into his chest again. He was hesitant about this, not wanting to accidentally hurt Lucy. When they both got settled again, Lucy sighed in content.

"I miss this so much."

"Me too." Natsu said lightly, kissing the top of her head.

"I miss you, Natsu."

Natsu's mind went blank at her words. Pulling her closer he said, "I know. You don't know..." He felt his voice cracking from the impending sob in his throat, "You don't know how sorry I am Lucy."

A dam broke within Natsu as more tears fell from his onyx eyes. "I'm so God damn sorry for these past few months. When I got the call that you were seriously injured I thought... I thought-" Natsu broke off, sobs taking over his body. He felt Lucy's comforting patting on his back and through his hair, whispering that she was okay and that everything would be okay.

He didn't deserve Lucy, not in any form of the word.

He pathetically laid there while his fiancee, the woman who damn near lost her life, comforted him. He felt so worthless. Worthless to his family, his friends...

To Lucy.

He knew he shouldn't be the one dwelling in self pity, but his mind had other plans for him. The image of Lucy going unconscious in his arms, how shallow she was breathing and how ice cold she was in his arms replayed in his head like a mantra. He's been through so many life or death situations, situations that would make a grown man cry. This situation however, was by far the worst hes been through. He would rather die than to ever face something like this again.

He didn't think he was strong enough to make it through something like this again.

And yet here he is getting comforted by Lucy even though she was the one who almost died.

How pathetic was he?

With his emotions running rampant, Natsu continued his apology. "I-I'm sorry." His voice was thick and scratchy. "I'm s-so so sorry Lucy."

The smile she gave him made the crack in his heart deepen. "I forgive you Natsu."

"I don't deserve your forgiveness." He cried. "I love you, I love you so fucking much it hurts Lucy."

"I love you-"

"Let me finish." He cut her off harsher than he meant to. "These past six months have been absolute hell. Its not fair to you that you have to deal with it, its not fair in the slightest. Y-You've been through so much, so much loneliness and heartbreak because of me and..."

"I'm just so fucking sorry, Lucy!" He ended his long apology off with a screaming sob of her name. He buried her head in her golden locks and let his tears out, leaving a wet spot on her head. Instead of pushing him away, which he half expected her to do, she just held him. Leaving soft kisses on his forehead, whispering sweet nothings to him.

He always loved Lucy's comforting touches and words. She knew exactly how to make him feel better. A few years back Natsu got to a robbery too late which ended with the perpetrator shooting and killing the cashier, making Natsu absolutely irate. He came home thrashing and saying stuff he didn't mean. Instead of fighting with him, Lucy just gave him a hug. Telling him everything was going to be okay and to use the past as a learning experience because no matter how angry he was or how much he wanted to, he couldn't change the situation.

After that day he took each crime as a learning experience because Lucy was right, and shes still right to this day.

You can't change the past, no matter how much you want to. You can only live in the past, or learn from the past.

"May I talk now?" He nodded at her words, snuggling his face in her hair."I love you Natsu. I love you enough that I know we can work past the issues we have now. But, like you said earlier, now isn't the time to talk about our issues. Right now, I just need you. I..." She pulled back, looking in his teary eyes with his own, placing the hand without the IV drip in it on his cheek. "I don't want to lose you, ever."

Natsu gripped Lucy's hand on his cheek, smiling through the tears. "It's you and me, everyday Lucy."

Natsu leaned his head, kissing her chapped and cracked lips and it still felt like the first time they kissed. When she kissed back, it was as if all the troubles they were facing melted away. There was no Tartaros, there was no secret life between them it was just them.

And in that moment, it was all that mattered to either of them.

* * *

 _I hope I made this scene emotional enough, I teared up a bit writing it. I hope you guys enjoyed it! Let me know what you think!_


End file.
